Wire wound flexible shaft having extended fatigue life and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A wire wound flexible shaft has layers of wire wound one upon another, with a dry film of lubricant bonded to the outer surfaces of a number of the outer layers; or if desired, to the outer surfaces of all layers of the shaft. The lubricant is applied by preheating the partially completed flexible shaft to a temperature substantially above 212° F. but below the decomposition temperature of the lubricant. A liquid medium comprising a carrier and particles of the lubricant is sprayed onto the shaft surface, causing the liquid to vaporize and the lubricant particles to be deposited on the shaft. One or more successive wire layers may then be wound onto the partially completed shaft and the spraying step repeated. Thereafter the shaft is heated to cause the lubricant particles to bond to the adjacent wire layers and to reduce internal stresses in the shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a wire wound flexible shaft having an extendedfatigue life, and a method for manufacturing the same.

Wire wound flexible shafts usually comprise a central or mandrel wire,upon which is wound successive helical wire layers, each layer normallybeing wound with a pitch direction opposite to that of the precedinglayer. The shaft has a predetermined length dependent upon the desireduse thereof. A flexible shaft assembly is made by providing a length offlexible shaft with fittings at the shaft ends which facilitateconnection of one of the ends to a driving or shaft turning member suchas a handle, crank or motor, and connection of the other end to a drivenmember such as a valve or a rotatable tool.

Such flexible shaft assemblies typically are used where the driving anddriven members are not coaxial, so that while transmitting torque fromthe driving to the driven member the shaft must bend to accommodate thenon-aligned positions of said members.

Unidirectional flexible shafts are intended for rotation and torquetransmission in only one angular direction, while bidirectional shafts,the need for which arises less frequently, are intended to rotate andtransmit torque in both angular directions.

In the large scale manufacture of such flexible shafts, a continuoussection of shaft material is wound using winding machinery adapted forthat purpose; and after the shaft material is wound, it is cut into thedesired lengths, which are then provided with end fittings to completethe flexible shaft assembly.

When a flexible shaft transmits torque, the wire layers of the shaft rubagainst each other, and the resulting friction heats the shaft. Undersome rotation conditions the wires of a flexible shaft can become redhot. This friction and heat cause the wires of the shaft to fatigue; andthe shaft eventually breaks.

Attempts to increase the fatigue life of wire wound flexible shafts havefocused primarily on providing more durable wire for making the shafts,and heat treatment to reduce internal stresses within the shaft.Attempts to reduce internal friction by use of lubricants have hadlimited success.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,270 to Ishikawa entitled Flexible Shaft HavingElement Wire Groups And Lubricant Therebetween discloses a structurewherein grease is introduced into interstices of a wire wound flexibleshaft in order to reduce friction. The lubrication approach taken byIshikawa, however, has a number of drawbacks.

According to the teaching of Ishikawa the flexible shaft is made bywinding a layer of hemp yarns around a central or core wire (also knownas a mandrel wire). Successive layers of steel wire are then woundaround the hemp layer. Thereafter the flexible shaft so formed is cut toa desired length and lubricated by vacuum impregnation with grease, inthe course of which the grease penetrates into and is absorbed by thehemp yarn to form a grease-bearing layer. The grease also penetratesinto interstices of the wires. The grease-bearing layer acts as areservoir to slowly release grease into the flexible shaft interstices.

At low temperatures the grease in the flexible shaft of Ishikawa becomesmore viscous, resulting in stiffening of the shaft accompanied by adecrease in flexibility and an increase in the torque required to startrotation of a driven member attached to the shaft assembly. The greasewill break down in high temperature environments or in situations wherea combination of environment temperature and residual internal frictionsufficiently increases the temperature of the shaft wires. The greasetends to be axially pumped along the shaft as it rotates; and if theshaft is turned unidirectionally, as the majority of flexible shaftassemblies are, the grease would be pumped in one direction only andwould accumulate at one end of the shaft while providing little or nolubrication at the other end. Cutting and handling of the greaseimpregnated shaft of Ishikawa would be extremely difficult, so that tomanufacture the Ishikawa flexible shaft, the shaft material must be cutto desired lengths prior to impregnation, making the Ishikawa structureunsuitable for large scale manufacture.

The currently used method of lubrication is to apply grease to the outerwire layer of the flexible shaft. This method lubricates only the outerlayer and does not reduced friction between the various wire layers ofthe shaft, as the lubricant does not reach the inner layers. Highpressure lubrication of the outer layer has also been employed, withonly limited improvement over the conventional outer layer lubricationmethod.

While each wire used to wind the flexible shaft is individuallylubricated during spooling (i.e. when the wire is wound unto a spool foruse in a winding machine), the lubricant burns off when the wound shaftis heat treated (typically at a temperature in the range of 800 to 900°F.) to reduce internal stresses.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wirewound flexible shaft having extended fatigue life, and a method formanufacturing the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a wire wound flexible shaft having afirst wire layer with an outer surface and a second wire layer woundaround the outer surface of the first layer. A dry film of a lubricantis bonded to the outer surface of the first layer, thus reducingfriction between the layers when the shaft is rotated.

The present invention also provides a process for manufacturing a wirewound flexible shaft by a process in which one or more layers of wireare wound upon a core wire to form a partially completed flexible shaft.Particles of a lubricant are sprayed onto the flexible shaft, so thatthe particles are deposited on the exposed surface of the shaft.Thereafter the flexible shaft is heated to cause the lubricant particlesto bond thereto.

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a wire wound flexible shaft lubricationmethod according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing equipment used in practicing the method ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing equipment which may alternatively be used inpracticing the method of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a wire wound flexible shaftmanufactured by the method of FIG. 1 using the equipment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing equipment used in carrying out Step 5 of themethod of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Process Description

As seen in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the process of thepresent invention has five major steps. These steps involve theapplication of a dry lubricant to the exposed surface of the outer wirelayer of a partially wound flexible shaft, followed by the winding of anadditional wire layer on the shaft and application of a dry lubricant tothe outer surface of that additional layer. This process is repeateduntil the lubricant has been applied to each of the desired layers. Oneor more additional non-lubricated layers may optionally be subsequentlywound atop the lubricated layers, although this is not preferred.

After completion of the winding and lubricant application steps, theflexible shaft ends up bent, i.e. curved or biased as a result of thewinding operations to which it has been subjected. In a conventionalmanner, the flexible shaft goes through a bending operation which worksthe shaft so as to, greatly reduce or eliminate this curvature or bias.

Then the shaft is heat treated to reduce internal stresses which wouldotherwise reduce the useful life of the shaft. Such a heat treatmentprocess is conventional. However, in the process of the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the heat treatment process alsoserves the purpose of causing the lubricant particles to be cured sothat they bond to the adjacent wires of the shaft. The lubricantparticles also extend into interstices between the wires of adjacentlayers.

The lubricant particles are made of material which will not decompose atthe elevated temperatures (typically in the 800° F. to 900° F. range) atwhich the shaft is to be heat treated. The preferred lubricant for thispurpose is a composition which comprises molybdenum disulfide andgraphite, with a particle size in the sub micron range. A suitablematerial is sold by Tiodize Company, Inc. with offices at 5858 EngineerDrive, Huntington Beach, Calif. 92649, under the trade name Tiolube 29,in accordance with U.S. government specification MIL-L-81329.

The lubricant particles are entrained or suspended in a suitable liquidcarrier, preferably water, to provide a lubricant medium forfacilitating application of the particles. The lubricant medium isstored in a reservoir which is continually stirred to maintain an evendistribution of the particles in the liquid.

At Step 1 of FIG. 1, a partially completed flexible shaft consisting ofa central (also known as a core or mandrel) wire or group of wires withat least one wire layer wound on it is coaxially advanced through aninduction heater to preheat the shaft. The wire material may be steel,inconel, phosphorous bronze, monel, or any metal that can be drawn intowire. The preheat temperature is substantially above the boiling pointof the carrier; i.e. sufficiently high to vaporize the carrier uponcontact with the preheated shaft but not so high as to cause (i)explosive evaporation of the carrier or (ii) decomposition of thelubricant material. In the preferred embodiment the carrier is water andthe preheat temperature is approximately 350° F.

At Step 2 the preheated partially completed flexible shaft is advancedthrough a spraying chamber. In that chamber the lubricant medium issprayed onto the preheated shaft, causing the carrier to be vaporizedalmost immediately, i.e.. the carrier “flashes off” the shaft, so thatthe lubricant particles are deposited on the shaft. If desired thereservoir can be heated so as to speed up the evaporation process sincethe carrier will already be at an elevated temperature when it contactsthe shaft.

Thus at the end of Step 2 the shaft is coated with lubricant particles.However, the particles are not yet bonded to the exposed wire layer ofthe shaft. To accomplish such bonding the shaft must be heated to ahigher temperature sufficient to cause fusing of the particles to theshaft, which results in formation of a molecular bond rendering theparticles (which fuse into an adherent film) strongly affixed to theadjacent wire layer.

At Step 3 another wire layer is wound on the partially completed shaft,overlapping the particles deposited on the previously exposed layer. AtStep 4 the processes of preheating the shaft and spraying it with thelubricant medium to deposit lubricant particles on the exposed wirelayer are repeated; and if desired these processes are repeated toprovide successive lubricated wire layers, the number of layersdepending on the design of the flexible shaft involved.

Wire wound flexible shafts are frequently contained within a cylindricalcasing so that the shaft rotates inside the casing. Depending on thematerial of the inner surface of the casing and the particularapplication involved, it may or may not be desirable to deposit thelubricant particles on the outermost surface of the shaft.

After the outermost layer has been wound on the shaft and the finaldeposition of lubricant particles has occurred, at Step 5 the shaft isheat treated at a temperature which is typically in the 800° F. to 900°F. range, to relieve stresses within the shaft and at the same time curethe lubricant particles so that a dry lubricant film is formed which isbonded to the adjacent wire of the shaft. Since the aforementionedpreferred lubricant has a decomposition temperature above 1100° F. it isnot adversely affected by the heat treatment/curing temperature.

Thereafter the shaft is worked to reduce or eliminate its curvature orbias, and cut into the desired lengths. The resulting shafts are theneither sold in that form, or provided with end fittings and sold asflexible shaft assemblies with or without casings.

Equipment Description

A winding and lubricating equipment unit 10 which is preferred forcarrying out the aforementioned process is shown in FIG. 2. The majorportions of the unit are a flexible shaft supply reel 11, a shaftwinding machine 12, a preheating induction heater 13, a pressurizedlubricant medium reservoir 14, a lubricant spray chamber 15, and aflexible shaft takeup reel 16 which is rotated by a takeup motor 17.

The supply reel 11 may contain a core or mandrel wire (or a core ormandrel wire group in the form of a cable comprising wire strandstwisted together) alone, or a partially completed flexible shaft 18 inthe form of one or more layers of wire wound on a core or mandrel. Thetakeup reel 16 is rotated by the reel motor 17 to pull the mandrel orpartially completed shaft 18 so that it advances successively throughthe shaft winding machine 12, preheating induction heater 13, andspraying chamber 15. The mandrel or wire is guided by various guiderollers disposed along its path (not shown). In the preferred embodimentthe linear speed of the mandrel or partially completed flexible shaft 18is about 9 feet per minute.

The shaft winding machine 12, which is of conventional construction,helically winds a wire layer upon the mandrel or partially completedflexible shaft 18 emerging from the supply reel 11. The layer is woundin the opposite helical direction to the then existing outer layer (ifany) of the partially completed flexible shaft. Automatic, semiautomaticand manual shaft winding machines are known in the art, and any of suchmachines may be used in practicing the method of the present invention.

After a wire layer is wound on the mandrel or partially completedflexible shaft 18 by the winding machine 12, the partially completedflexible shaft passes through the preheating induction heater 13 whereradio frequency energy induces eddy currents in the shaft which heat itto a temperature of about 350° F. This temperature is sufficiently highto immediately vaporize water in lubricant medium sprayed on the wire,while not being so high as to cause explosive evaporation of the water.By the term “explosive evaporation” is meant evaporation at such a highrate that when lubricant medium is sprayed onto the wire, the resultingwater vapor expands with sufficient force to significantly disrupt thewater spray or remove significant amounts of deposited lubricant fromthe wire.

After emerging from the preheating induction heater 13, the partiallycompleted shaft traverses the spraying chamber. 15. Pressurized air (at25 p.s.i.g. in the preferred embodiment) enters the reservoir 14 viaconduit 19 and air inlet flow control valve 20 to pressurize the airabove the surface of the lubricant medium 21 in the reservoir 14. Amixing motor 22 rotates a mixing blade 27 disposed within the reservoir14 to maintain a homogeneous mixture of the water and lubricantparticles comprising the lubricant medium 21.

Lubricant medium 21 is directed into the spray chamber 15 by conduit 23and spray control valve 24. The conduit 23 communicates with thepressurized tank 14 and the spray nozzles 25 and 26, which arepositioned on opposite sides of the partially completed flexible shaft18. If desired, more than two nozzles may be employed, in which eventthey should preferably be symmetrically positioned about the partiallycompleted flexible shaft 18. If desired, the reservoir may be heated bya heating coil 28.

Driven by the pressurized air above it, the lubricant medium 21 travelsthrough the conduit 23, spray control valve 24 and spray nozzles 25 and26 to impinge upon the partially completed flexible shaft 18. Uponcontacting the hot shaft wire, the water in the lubricant mediumimmediately evaporates, depositing the entrained or suspended lubricantparticles on the exposed wire surface.

Excess material comprising lubricant medium, condensed water and freelubricant particles falls to the funnel-shaped bottom of the spraychamber 15, from which this material flows through a drain 29 into acatch basin. The excess material is recycled by means not shown andreintroduced to the reservoir 14.

The partially completed shaft 18 emerges from the spray chamber 15 withan essentially dry coating of lubricant particles deposited on theexposed surface of the shaft. However, this coating is either uncured oronly partially cured and thus is not yet securely adherent to theadjacent wire surface of the shaft.

If another layer of wire is to be wound on the partially completedflexible shaft 18 to meet the requirements of a particular flexibleshaft design, the takeup reel 16 (which now contains the partiallycompleted flexible shaft with its outer wire layer covered with acoating of lubricant particles or, if partially cured, a film comprisingthe deposited lubricant material as well as lubricant particles) isremoved and the supply reel 11 is replaced by the takeup reel 16. Thetakeup reel is replaced by a fresh takeup reel which is rotated toadvance the lubricant coated partially completed flexible shaft throughthe equipment unit 10, to wind another wire layer on the shaft andprovide a lubricant coating thereon.

After the desired number of wire layers have been wound on the partiallycompleted flexible shaft and provided with lubricant coatings (provisionof a lubricant coating on the outermost layer as well as one or more ofthe innermost layers being optional), the resulting takeup reelcontaining the partially completed flexible shaft is removed from theequipment unit 10 and transported to a heat treating/curing station 30.

At the heat treating/curing station 30, shown in FIG. 5, the partiallycompleted flexible shaft having one or more wire layers coated with drylubricant is subjected to a heat treating cycle in accordance withconventional parameters, as follows.

The finished shaft 41 passes over the guide pulleys 43, 44 and 45,through the straightening heads 46, through the induction heat treater47 at a temperature of 800° F. to 900° F., through the (optional) liquidcooling tube 48, around guide pulley 49, and through an air cooling tube50. The cured flexible shaft 51 leaving the air cooling tube 50 iscollected on the takeup reel 52. This heat treating process is typicallyperformed at a linear shaft speed of about 25 feet per minute and can becarried out as the corresponding shaft is being wound, or as a batchprocess after winding of the shaft has been completed.

The heat treatment reduces stresses in the shaft while also curing thelubricant, resulting in one or more lubricant films securely bonded tothe adjacent wire surfaces of the flexible shaft.

After the flexible shaft has been heat treated and the lubricant thereinhas been cured, the reel containing the shaft is transported to aconventional bending/working station 31 which bends and works the shaftso as to reduce or eliminate the curvature of the shaft which resultsfrom the winding operations. Thereafter the shaft is cut into desiredlengths. If the desired product to be shipped is to be shaft assemblies,the cut lengths of shaft are provided with shaped ends or end fittingsadapted to engage driving and driven members of tools, equipment ormachinery with which the shafts are intended to function.

FIG. 3 shows a linear array of winding and lubricating equipment units10, in which the lubricated partially completed shaft emerging from eachunit is advanced to the next unit downstream for winding and lubricationof an additional wire layer. With the arrangement of FIG. 3 productionof the shaft is more efficient, since it is not necessary to move supplyand takeup reels each time another layer of wire is to be wound on thepartially completed flexible shaft, or to change winding machinesettings for each layer to be wound. Once the partially completedflexible shaft has had the desired number of wire layers wound andlubricated, it is subjected to the aforementioned heat treatment/curingand bending/working operations at stations 30 and 31 respectively.

Resulting Flexible Shaft Configuration

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a flexible shaft 18A manufacturedaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention. This particularshaft has a central core wire 32 upon which six wire layers 33 through38 have been successively helically wound, each layer being wound in ahelical direction opposite to that of the underlying layer. In thisshaft the outer three layers 36, 37 and 38 are coated with dry lubricantfilms 39, 40 and 41. The film 39 is bonded to the adjacent wires oflayers 36 and 37; the film 40 is bonded to the adjacent wires of layers37 and 38; and the film 41 is bonded to the outer surfaces of the wirecomprising layer 38. Due to the fact that some particle softening andflow occurs during the curing process, these films also extend intointerstices 42 between the layers 36-37 and 37-38.

Process Example

Two versions of a six layered wire wound flexible shaft were made asdescribed below. One version (“non-lubricated flexible shaft”) was madewithout application of any lubricant. The other version (“lubricatedflexible shaft”) was made by applying a dry lubricant to the exposedsurfaces of the outermost three wire layers, since these layerstypically carry 70% to 80% of the torsion load on the shaft.

A spraying fixture was made with a hollow cylindrical plastic pipe, withtwo lubricant medium spray nozzles mounted on the pipe. One of thenozzles was mounted at the top of the pipe and the other was mounted atthe bottom of the pipe. Two end covers were made with an axial holethrough each of them, so that the shafts could pass through the pipe viathe axial holes, and sprayed material would be contained within thepipe.

A drain hole was made at the bottom of the pipe. The nozzle was onecustomarily used with a 25 p.s.i.g. pressure. A pressurized tank wasused to provide this pressure. The tank contained lubricant (comprisingmolybdenum disulfide and graphite) as previously described, mixed withwater as a carrier.

All six layers of the non-lubricated flexible shaft were wound on anelectronic shaft winding machine.

The first four layers of the lubricated flexible shaft were wound on thesame electronic shaft winding machine, which machine was equipped withan induction heater. The partially competed flexible shaft was preheatedin the induction heater to a temperature in the range of 300° F. to 350°F., after which the shaft passed through the aforementioned plastic pipewhere it was sprayed with the lubricant particle containing water fromthe pressurized tank. The contact of the spray with the shaft flashevaporated the water and deposited an adherent dry film of the lubricanton the shaft, but did not cure the lubricant film.

This flash evaporation technique was used to prevent the water carrierfrom causing the lubricant particles to drip off the shaft duringsubsequent processing. Alternatively, other techniques for applying thelubricant particles to the shaft might be used, such as passing thepreheated shaft through a pressurized chamber containing a “cloud” oflubricant particles. However, no such alternative application method wastested.

In this example a temperature higher than the 350° F. range was avoidedin order to eliminate the risk that a higher temperature might causeexplosive evaporation of the water carrier and blow away the lubricantto be deposited.

The spraying fixture was mounted on the electronic shaft winding machineright after the induction heater. Only one spraying fixture was made andthe last three (fourth fifth, and sixth) layers of each lubricatedflexible shaft were lubricated individually. Air and liquid pipes wereplugged into the nozzle outlets. The pressurized tank was filled withlubricant.

Once the fourth layer was lubricated by the spraying fixture on theelectronic shaft winding machine, a fifth wire layer was wound on thefourth layer, on an automatic shaft winding machine. The partiallycompleted flexible shaft having the fifth layer was placed on a reel ofthe electronic shaft winding machine; and was preheated and lubricatedin the same manner as the fourth layer. Similarly, once the fifth layerwas lubricated by the spraying fixture on the electronic shaft windingmachine, a sixth wire layer was wound on the fifth layer, on anautomatic shaft winding machine. The partially completed flexible shafthaving the sixth layer was placed on a reel of the electronic shaftwinding machine; and was preheated and lubricated in the same manner asthe fifth layer.

The electronic shaft winding machine was run at 9 feet per minute. Theinduction heater preheat temperature to 350° F. and an air pressure of25 p.s.i.g. was applied to the air pipe connected to the nozzle inlets.Thus the partially completed preheated flexible shaft passed through thespraying fixture, where the lubricant particles, entrained or suspendedin water, were sprayed onto the shaft under 25 p.s.i.g. pressure.

As a result, a uniform coating of the lubricant was deposited on theexposed wire surface of the partially completed flexible shaft. Thecoating thickness was not measured. However, there was no shaft wirevisible through the lubricant coating.

Two hundred feet of shaft was lubricated by the aforementionedprocedure. The fourth, fifth and sixth layers were all wound on theautomatic shaft winding machine, and were all lubricated on theelectronic shaft winding machine under the same conditions as statedabove.

Two hundred feet of non-lubricated flexible shaft was wound on theelectronic shaft winding machine, with the same parameters (wirematerial, wire size, number of layers, etc.) as the lubricated flexibleshaft.

The lubricated flexible shaft was then put through the normal heattreatment schedule, which is as follows: {circumflex over ( )}. Thenon-lubricated flexible shaft was subjected to the same heat treatmentschedule.

The heat treatment not only reduced stresses in the lubricated flexibleshaft, but also cured the dry lubricant film at a temperature below thelubricant decomposition temperature of about 1100° F. Curing of thelubricant film is essential, since If the film is not cured it would notadhere to the shaft wire on a molecular level, and would be worn off theshaft in a relatively short time. If the heat treatment/curingtemperature were to be much above 1100° F., the lubricant film would beburned away.

Ten 3.5 inch length samples were formed (i.e. bent and worked to reducebending or curvature) and cut from a reel containing the heattreated/cured lubricated flexible shaft. Similarly, ten 3.5 inch lengthsamples were formed (i.e. bent and worked to reduce bending orcurvature) and cut from a reel containing the heat treatednon-lubricated flexible shaft.

These twenty samples were subjected to repetitive 25 pound-inch torquecycles until each shaft sample broke, in order to determine theirfatigue life. The numbers of cycles required to break each sample areshown in Table 1 below. TABLE 1 Non-Lubricated Lubricated FlexibleShafts Flexible Shafts Fatigue Cycles Fatigue Cycles 1807 3309 1975 46081747 4248 1900 3825 1903 3684 1705 3680 2150 3139 1908 4265 2051 45312079 4893

Table 1 shows that the flexible shafts lubricated in the mannerdescribed above exhibited a fatigue life approximately twice that ofotherwise identical non-lubricated shafts.

While only the outermost three wire layers were lubricated in theaforementioned example, lubrication of additional layers would beexpected to result in a further improvement in fatigue life.

1. A wire wound flexible shaft having a first wire layer with an outersurface and a second wire layer wound around the outer surface of thefirst layer, wherein a dry film of a lubricant is bonded to the outersurface of the first layer.
 2. The shaft according to claim 1, whereinsaid film comprises molybdenum disulfide.
 3. The shaft according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein material comprising said lubricant is disposed ininterstices between said layers.
 4. The shaft according to claim 3,wherein the wire comprising said first wire layer comprises a materialselected from the group consisting of steel, monel, phosphorous bronze,or inconel.
 5. The shaft according to claim 1 or 2, wherein saidlubricant comprises a substance which has a decomposition temperatureabove 900° Fahrenheit.
 6. A wire wound flexible shaft having a pluralityof wire layers wound one atop another, wherein a dry film of a lubricantis adherent to the outer surfaces of two or more of the layers.
 7. Theshaft according to claim 6, wherein a dry film of said lubricant isadherent to the outer surface of the wire layer adjacent the outermostwire layer of said shaft.
 8. The shaft according to claim 6, whereinsaid film comprises molybdenum disulfide.
 9. The shaft according toclaim 6, 7 or 8, wherein material comprising said lubricant is disposedin interstices between said layers.
 10. The shaft according to claim 9,wherein the wire of each layer having lubricant adherent theretocomprises a material selected from the group consisting of steel, monel,phosphorous bronze, or inconel.
 11. The shaft according to claim 6, 7,or 8, wherein said lubricant comprises a substance which has adecomposition temperature above 900° Fahrenheit.
 12. A process formanufacturing a wire wound flexible shaft, comprising the steps of:winding at least one layer of wire upon a core wire to form a partiallycompleted flexible shaft; preheating said partially completed flexibleshaft; spraying the preheated partially completed flexible shaft with aliquid carrier containing a lubricant, so that the carrier is vaporizedupon contact with the shaft and the lubricant Is deposited on theexposed surface of the shaft; subsequently winding another wire layer onthe partially completed shaft having the lubricant deposited thereon;repeating said heating, spraying and subsequent winding steps one ormore times; and heating said wires having lubricant deposited thereon ata temperature sufficient to cause the deposited lubricant to bond to thewires.
 13. The process according to claim 12, wherein said lubricant hasa predetermined decomposition temperature and, said wires havinglubricant deposited thereon are heated at a temperature below saiddecomposition temperature.
 14. The process according to claim 12,wherein said lubricant comprises molybdenum disulfide.
 15. The processaccording to claim 13, wherein during said preheating step saidpartially completed flexible shaft is heated to a temperaturesubstantially above 212° F. and below both the decomposition temperatureof said lubricant and the temperature that would cause explosiveevaporation of the carrier.
 16. The process according to claim 12, 13,14 or 15, wherein said lubricant comprises particles entrained orsuspended in said carrier.
 17. A process for manufacturing a wire woundflexible shaft, comprising the steps of: winding at least one layer ofwire upon a core wire to form a partially completed flexible shaft;spraying particles of a lubricant onto the partially completed flexibleshaft, so that the particles are deposited on the exposed surface of theshaft; subsequently winding another wire layer on the partiallycompleted shaft having the lubricant particles deposited thereon; andrepeating said spraying and subsequent winding steps one or more times.18. The process according to claim 17, comprising the additional stepof, after said repeating step, heating the flexible shaft to cause thelubricant particles to bond thereto and to reduce internal stresses inthe shaft.
 19. A process for manufacturing a wire wound flexible shaft,comprising the steps of: winding one or more layers of wire upon a corewire to form a partially completed flexible shaft; spraying particles ofa lubricant onto the flexible shaft, so that the particles are depositedon the exposed surface of the shaft; and heating the flexible shaft tocause the lubricant particles to bond thereto, whereby said lubricantreduces internal stresses in the shaft.
 20. A process for manufacturinga wire wound flexible shaft, comprising the steps of: providing alubricant medium comprising a liquid carrier having lubricant particlesentrained or suspended therein; advancing a partially completed flexibleshaft having at least one wire layer wound on another layer or a corewire, through a heater to preheat the shaft to a temperaturesubstantially above 212° F. but below a temperature that would causeexplosive evaporation of the lubricant carrier; advancing the preheatedpartially completed flexible shaft through a chamber while spraying theshaft with said lubricant medium, so that the carrier is vaporized uponcontact with the shaft and the lubricant particles are deposited on theshaft surface; subsequently winding another wire layer on the partiallycompleted shaft having the lubricant particles deposited thereon;repeating said preheating, spraying and subsequent winding steps one ormore times; and heating said wires having lubricant particles depositedthereon at a temperature sufficient to cause the particles to bond tothe wires.
 21. The process according to claim 20, wherein said lastmentioned heating step comprises heat treating the flexible shaft toreduce internal stresses therein.
 22. A wire wound flexible shaft havinga first metal wire layer with an outer surface and a second metal wirelayer wound around the outer surface of the first layer, wherein a dryfilm of a lubricant is bonded to the outer surface of the first layerand disposed in interstices between said layers.
 23. The shaft accordingto claim 22, wherein said film comprises graphite.
 24. The shaftaccording to claim 22 or 23, wherein said film comprises molybdenumdisulfide.
 25. A process for manufacturing a wire wound flexible shaft,comprising the steps of: winding one or more layers of wire upon a corewire to form a partially completed flexible shaft; applying particles ofa lubricant onto the flexible shaft, so that the particles are depositedon the exposed surface of the shaft; and treating the flexible shaft tocause the lubricant particles to bond thereto.